Corum Online Review

Corum Online comes across as being a slightly older game. The graphics are outdated and itplayspretty slow, kinda like they're walking on squares.Although some characters have elven ears, there are no racial options in the game. After seeing the flashy trailer, I knew that it would be wise to give this game a try. Let's see what this game has to offer shall we?

The first step

Creating your character is probably your first kick-off when you start playing a game. The character creation menu doesn't really give you many options. Seeing his incredibly default figure willinspire the silent challenge ofachieving higher levels and add unique features by obtaining gear sets and cool weapons.After entering your character's name, your next step would be to pick your class.Be awarethat your gender would depend on whatever class you would be using. Aside from the lack of gender options, you cant pick your race either. This is a bit of a drag but hey, we didn't blame Ragnarok for giving us nothing but humans.

The in-game classes consists of basic ones from early RPGs. The classes are as follows: Fighter, Ranger, Summoner, Sorceress, Priest and Arcus. Yeah, I too was wondering what an Arcus was. After checking it out, I learned that the Arcus was actually just an Archer (Would've been easier ifthose guys just called him an archer!).

You can change your character's looks by pressing the CHANGE button, which will then scroll you through a couple of pre-made character designs. Note that only the hair and skin color changes upon doing so. The game lacks character creation options and that's a fact. After creating your character, you'll be given the option to choose your starting town (Ludilos for beginners). I honestly don't know why players have to pick their starting town since it's not like people want to go hardcore during their early levels. Either that or everyone can't fit in one town.

Map Issues

This is probably the only MMO that features a World Map - yeah you heard me right. On this map you roam around, instead of tediously traveling on foot, or by mount,in the game. The World map looks pretty similar to the old Final Fantasy 7 Map (not to mention their similarity in terms of graphics).

Areas are separated via zones in the map. The map is not a persistent area, meaning it's somewhat instanced (only party members can be seen). Not that I blame them, It would look pretty stupid if everyone's running around in the world map. Like any Final Fantasy game, the world map lets you go to your desired area. No, there are no monsters in the World Map, although it would've been better if there were (oops... I forgot that this isn't a turn-based game).

Instancing

In terms of PVP:A weird factor that I came across was the game's unfortunate instancing of PVP battles. After you invite another player to duel with you, both your characters will be teleported to an instanced arena (again, where no one can interfere).

Dungeons:We all know that instanced dungeons are one of the best features of MMO games in general, and this game managed to keep up with the trend. In Corum Online however, instancescan be owned by Guilds who will then be getting a whole lot of benefits upon doing so. Resources or even power can be gained upon owning an instance, so be sure to find a good guild when you start playing. You wouldn't want to miss out on what dungeon ownership can earn you.

Simple Things Work

The visuals weren't as bad as I expected. Characters look pretty decent, especially for an outdated graphic engine. The characters look a bit anime-ish and their hugeweapons provide enough aesthetics to lure anyone into playing.

The interface is tad simple, with hot-key action bars on bottom left part of the screen and of course the health and mana bars that are brilliantly placed in the center of the HUD, making it easier to scroll your eyes around them.

The game is actually STAT based, meaning you'll have a good depth of character build up. The stats however, don't greatly compliment the character's performance as well asthey should. STR and INT should probably do more than just increase your damage (by an unnoticeable amount) and boost your mana points.

The spells looks radical and somewhat captivating. The bright lights that engulf the place while performing your skillare quite catchy. For a game that has low graphic capabilities, the spells and effects look absolutely marvelous.

The Final Verdict

If you must know... yes, it is a grinding game. However, the game-play makes it quite fun. Though the game has a bunch of quests, these things just often points you to your proper leveling zone (and reward you with more like extra experience points when you're killing the right monsters).

With elements from early RPGs condensed into a solid MMO, Corum Online is a pretty decent game. The sound system is a bit poor, especially since I've yet to hear an actual 'crunch' that would make me yearn for more grinding goodness.

The World map is pretty much a good idea, although strolling on the same area that gradually changes as you go further would've been better that watching repetitive loading screens.

The combat system is pretty nice since you're more than capable of taking on countless enemies all at once. The spell detail is quite appealing though it could use some work. A gender option would also be nice since not everyone's comfortable with playing a character that doesn't share their actual gender. Racial options would also be a big plus if ever possible.

All in all, the game isn't that bad. It could use a bit of polishing but it's pretty much something worth playing.